DealBook Online

Published: September 7, 2011

MIND OF MADOFF Despite initial doubts about his claims, Bernard L. Madoff, below, the convicted swindler, is actually working with a faculty member at Harvard Business School on a case study about his career experiences, including his enormous Ponzi scheme.

The research, according to a Harvard spokesman, is aimed at identifying the ''pressures, circumstances, emotions, etc.'' that prompted the felons to commit their crimes.

DIANA B. HENRIQUES

DROPBOX FINANCING Dropbox, the online data storage company, is on the verge of closing a major financing round of $250 million to $300 million, according to two people familiar with the matter. The deal, led by Index Ventures, is said to value the company
at $4 billion. Goldman Sachs, which is expected to invest about $25 million, and other investors are also participating. EVELYN M. RUSLI

MORTGAGE LAWSUITS As regulators sue 17 banks over nearly $200 billion worth of subprime mortgage-backed securities that went bad, they are relying on lesser-known provisions of the federal securities laws that give them a stronger basis for obtaining
significant damages.

White Collar Watch examines two provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 that are intended to ensure that issuers of securities, and those responsible for drafting documents filed as part of the process, are careful that all the information disclosed
to investors is correct. PETER J. HENNING

PROMOTION AT REGULATOR The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, recently charged with policing the $600 trillion derivatives market, has appointed a technology expert to help it oversee the complex industry. John L. Rogers, currently the leader of the
agency's Office of Information Technology Services, will now become its chief information officer. He also will head up the agency's Office of Data and Technology, a new office set to open its doors in
October as the commission gears up to enforce the Dodd-Frank law. BEN PROTESS